MOSCOW, July 12. /TASS/. Gazprom's decision not to temporarily pay dividends does not mean that this practice will continue, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said in an interview with Vedomosti.
"Temporary refusal to pay dividends does not mean that this practice will continue in the coming years. Shareholders should understand that preserving resources for investment development, on the contrary, will give them more opportunities to receive good returns in the future. We were guided by this logic. As for other state-owned companies, including the oil and gas sector, they will pay record dividends to shareholders this year," the minister said.
Siluanov said that Russia’s decision to unfreeze the funds of non-residents will depend on actions of Western countries.
"Let's remember again why such measures were introduced. Western countries have blocked the funds of our companies, the country's gold, and foreign exchange reserves are frozen. Therefore, the decision to unfreeze non-residents' funds will depend on mirror actions from Western countries," Siluanov said.
Russia does not intend to switch to barter in foreign trade, but if companies agree on such transactions, the Ministry of Finance will not interfere, Siluanov said.
"We do not plan to switch to barter, but if our companies agree on barter transactions through accounting in the national currency, we will not interfere with it," Siluanov said.
He noted that the Ministry of Finance primarily plans to transfer payments in foreign trade into rubles as much as possible and supports the transition to trading liquefied natural gas (LNG) for rubles.